Process of hydrogenating oils or fats.



UNITED srarns ParENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM D. RICHARDSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB 'IO SWIFT 8aCOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PROCESS OI HYDROGENATING OILS OB FATS.

Io Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D. RIGHARW SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new. and useful Improvements inProcesses of Hydrogenating Oils or Fats, of which the following is aspecification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved method ofhydrogenating oils or fats to harden or solidify them.

As is now well known oils and the oily unsaturated acids may beconverted into saturated bodies, or fats, of higher melting point, orhardened by. treating with hydrogen in the presence of certain metals.Nickel is the one generally used as it is more active than cobalt, iron,copper, etc. Usually the active nickel is prepared by reducing the oxidby hydrogen at a low temperature; this operation being generallyperformed by heating the nitrate until it is converted into oxid andthen reducing this oxid in a tube. The presence of chloride, sulfates,etc., s disadvantageous as these bodies act as po1- sons. The wholeoperation is expensive, laborious and tedious. It is an object of thepresent invention to economize in time, labor and cost by directlypreparing a catalyst from solid bodies of metal, best nickel; massivemetal being directly eroded by the action of the electric arc to producemetal of such a state of fineness or subdivision that in the presence ofa liquid it is adapted to form a colloidal solution.

This object is accomplished by the following described process:

I first put in a suitable container a quan tity of'liquid or semi-liquidmaterial, which may be water. and then submerge two metallic pieces inthis material and connect them with a suitable device for supplying anelectric current through said pieces. These pieces serve as electrodes,being suitably spaced apart andprovided with sufficient current toproduce an electric arc across the gap between them, and to cause partof the metal of said electrodes to disintegrate and to .be diffused infinely divided form in said material. The material of electrodessuitable for this purpose may be nickel, copper, platinum, palladium.iron, or their alloys, or other metals or alloys. These electrodes maybe conveniently. used in the form of rods, and the electric 'currentmaybe sup- Bpcciflcation of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 26, 1918.

Application filed November 11, 1912. Serial No. 780,748.

partly submerged in the material before 2 mentioned. The electriccurrent is operated preferably at a voltage of from 40 to 150, and ispreferably a direct current.

The are is allowed to continue until the desired amount ofdisintegratedor finely divided metal has been produced by its eroding action. Thefinely divided metal is then separated from the liquid or semi-liquidmaterial, or from the greater part thereof, as may be done by filteringit out, or by evaporating the liquid, and the finely divided metal thusobtained is then introduced into the unsaturated compound, such as thefatty oil or fat to be hydrogenated, and is mixed therewith in theproportion of about 1 to 3 per cent. of the metal to the mixture, byweight. More or less may be used if desired. Hardening is efl'ected byhydrogen or a gas containing hydrogen in any of the usual wayspreferably done under heat and pressure.

When operating under about 40 ounds pressure and with a temperature 0about 160 degrees C., the process of hardening or solidifyingl may becompleted in from one to eight ours, depending upon the percentage ofthe finely divided metal used, the kind of fat or oil being hardened,the rapidity of agitation, etc, and upon the degree of hardness desired.After the hydrogenation of the oil or fat has been accomplished, thefinely divided metal may be removed from the mass as by settling,straining, or

gen.

3. In the hardening of oily and fa material the process which comprisese ectrically disintegrating a metal in water,.removing the water fromthe me al,

addin of such hydro 4. the hardenin of oily and fatty ma terial theprocess W ich comprises heating a aody of such material with hydrogen inthe presence of electrically disintegrated nickel.

5. In the hardening of oily and fatty material the process whichcomprises treating cally disintegrating nickel in a fluid medium, removmsuch medium, adding the disintegrated nickel to a body of such materialand treating such body with hydrogen.

the disintegrated metal to a bod material and treating the body wit 6.In the hardenin of oily and fatt material the process w 'ch comprisesectrically disintegrating nickel in water, removing the water from thedisintegrated nickel, adding the disintegrated nickel to a body of suchmaterial and treati the body with hydrogen. 1 ilgigned at Chicago this25 day of October,

WILLIAM D- RICHARDSON Witnesses:

I. 0. Beam, ARTHUR CoRBIsHLnY.

Corrections In Letters Patent No. 1,257,397.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,257,397, grantedFebrunry 26,

19 18, upon the application of William D. Richardson, of Chicago,Illinois, for an improvement in "Processes of Hydrogenating Oils orFeta," errors appear in the printed specification requiring correctionas follows: Page 2, line 5, claim 4, [or the word heating read treating;same page, line 10, clain 5, for the word Wanting the syllableseZectri-; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with thesecorrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the casein the Patent Office.

Sim, end aeeled this 16th day of April, A. D., 1918.

M F. w. H. CLAY,

Acting Gommz'eciaw qfPatcnis. CL 87- 42.

